Projects to date

Because some of the posts I'll be putting up are in 'flashback mode' (after the fact), I'll try and recap what we have bitten off so far:

• Removed 20 year old blue shag carpet - done before we even moved in. Lived with 50 year old wood flooring for four years because it was 10X less hideous than that carpet! [done]
  
  
• Installed Pergo flooring in the kitchen, living room and upstairs bathroom. Yet to do: hallway and upstairs bedrooms. Yes - we installed Pergo over hardwood floors. No - we aren't crazy. We have 3 boys ages 3-10 and a dog. The Pergo will go and we will refinish the floors 10-15 years from now when the demolition derby moves out. Best Pergo installation tip: cage the dog when laying it, as dog urine will 'wick' under a 3-5 foot section ( a serious blood pressure agitator). [project not completed]
  
  
• Painted every room in the house EXCEPT the master bedroom. Well - I did paint one wall while my wife was at the hospital recuperating from the delivery of our 10 lb wonder baby, but halted that project when they got home and the paint fumes were making everyone sick! [project not completed]
  
  
• Knocked out the wall between a bedroom and the kitchen. Installed custom built-in shelving. Replaced all of the kitchen cabinets and fixtures. Added a boatload of electrical outlets (rerouting the 220 line for the stove) and capped the existing gas line. No - I didn't blow up the house, and the roof has not collapsed - I was 99% sure the wall was not load bearing! Still need to finish installing cabinetry and install bead board along one wall. [project not completed]
  
  
• Completed finishing the basement as a living space. Two months later, kids knocked basement toilet off of it's base and filled the basement with 1/2 inch of water. Ripped out all of the carpet, started painting walls (wife hated the existing colors anyways). Let kids live because I fear the law and the $900 TV armoire form Pier One somehow managed to escape unscathed. I guess I'm also too lazy to dig that many graves in our clay soil. [project completed, ruined and now way unfinished]
  
  
• Transformed one basement bedroom to 'Hogwarts' themed room with faux stone walls and flaming torches. [project completed]
  
  
• Refinished basement playroom into bedroom. Repainted walls, installed beadboard with lots of hooks for jewelry, etc. Painted everything and made it really nice. I should have gotten a security deposit from my daughter before she moved in. [project completed, as I'm not repainting everything in there every week!]
  
  
• Built a sweet tree house in the back yard using salvaged wood and cheap underage labor. [project completed, at least until we talk my wife into letting us put in a second floor]
  
  
• Replaced all upstairs bathroom fixtures. Started custom shelving. Learned how to install Pergo under a toilet. Didn't caulk the edges well enough so the floor buckled when the toilet and tub got the floor all wet, so I got to do the floor twice to ensure I knew what I was doing.
  
  
• Converted large entry closet into small office, with custom built in shelving and desk. [done]
  
  
• Started wall along driveway using landscaping blocks. [project unfinished]
  

Minor projects:

• Turned off the pilot light (to save gas). Attempted cleaning/repair of corroded pilot light gas line, breaking pilot light assembly. Fixed pilot light assembly. [completed]
  
  
• Mounted a 21' LCD TV over the mantle in the living room [not completed - assembly not approved until unsightly cords are out of sight]
  
  
• Added 50 Amp 220 V circuit for an electric dryer, which died six months later and was replaced with a gas one. [completed]
  
  
• Switched out most of the exterior lighting [one left to go]
  
  
• Constructed a pergola next to the house. [didn't turn out the way we envisioned, will need to be re-done]
  
  
• Replaced a valve in every sink in the place [shower hot water just started leaking, right after I spent all day stacking a lot of heavy construction supplies in front of the access panel leading to it's shutoff]
  
  
• Installed a wooden swingset [completed - amazingly the kids haven't been able to brek it in three years]